Trump's Threat to Taiwan Office Raises Questions on Island's US Strategy
US President Donald Trump named Taiwan's representative office among entities he may sue over funding a progressive think tank, ahead of an expected summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The threat has sparked debate in Taiwan about whether its support for American think tanks has become a political liability. Opposition figures describe Trump's remarks as an unusual diplomatic warning.
Trump's Monday social media post accused the Centre for American Progress of publishing a report that contradicted his statements about National Guard deployments and violent crime. He sought $5 billion in damages and listed the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, alongside Japanese, Korean, and Emirati entities, as foreign supporters.
The announcement precedes Xi Jinping's upcoming Washington visit. Taiwan's main opposition party, the Kuomintang, interprets the threat as a rare diplomatic signal, fueling domestic debate over whether Taipei's think-tank funding now poses a political risk under the current US administration.
This development could affect Taiwan's diplomatic calculations, as its long-standing practice of engaging US think tanks may now be scrutinized as a potential liability. Taiwanese officials and advocacy groups might reassess their funding strategies to avoid provoking the White House. Meanwhile, the timing ahead of a Xi-Trump summit could complicate cross-strait dynamics, as Taipei may feel pressure to downplay its US ties to avoid being a bargaining chip in broader US-China negotiations.